Second Chances
by Siekin
Summary: The Second Sound/Leaf War led to the destruction of Konoha, save one Namikaze Naruto. When Kyuubi sends Naruto back in time, can he prevent Konoha from being annihilated again? Oh, and remember: Expect the Unexpected! 1st fanfic;NaruSaku;Time Travel
1. Prologue

Hell. That was the only way to describe the smoldering ruins of the once proud and powerful village of Konohagakure. Bodies were strewn about everywhere, most of them unrecognizable. Everywhere within a ten mile radius smelled like rotting corpses and charred flesh. Smoke rising from what were once intricate and beautiful buildings blotted out the sky; it was no longer possible to tell whether it was night or day.

And yet, throughout the burning hell that Konohagakure became, there were two beings that still drew breath. One of them was dressed in an oversized white shirt with his chest exposed, along with black pants held up by a giant purple rope that identified the man as an elite ninja of Otogakure. He had somewhat long black hair, with blood red eyes glaring intensely at the other living man in the area. The other had normally bright blond hair, although it was now matted with dirt and blood, and was dressed in a slightly modified version of Konoha's Jounin outfit with a flowing cloak blowing behind him. The outfit was stylistically exactly the same as aforementioned Jounin outfit; only, the normally dark-blue shirt/pants combo was in fact blood red with black pants, while the standard green vest was, in fact, orange. The cloak behind the man was easily recognizable as the same style as Namikaze Minato's, only it too was orange, with black flames. The blond was staring, infuriated, at the man in white with orange eyes that seemed as though they were flaming (colored manga depicts Naruto's Sage Mode eyes as yellow, and Kyuubi eyes as red; he's using both at the same time right now, and red and yellow make orange).

The red-eyed man began to cackle manically. "Kukuku... It seems as though we're the only ones left... Ne, Naruto-kun?"

This only infuriated the blond further, causing him to growl animalistically. "Shut it, Orochimaru! How could you do this, you sadistic bastard!? You annihilated Konoha, and deserve nothing more then death. As the Rokudaime Hokage of the village you destroyed, I will personally make sure that you are nothing more then a blood stain on the ground of the village you saw fit to wipe off of the face of the planet!"

With that declaration complete, Naruto charged at Orochimaru, with a giant Rasengan forming in each of his hands. Orochimaru merely laughed at the enraged blond, and raised his arm. Gathering lightning-natured chakra into his hand, he shaped it into a spear, and hurled it at the Hokage with a mighty cry of "Chidori Eisou!"

The lightning spear collided with the Rasengan-wielding Jinchuuriki, causing him to disappear in a burst of smoke. _'What!? Kage Bunshin!?,'_ was all that Orochimaru was able to think before he heard a loud screeching sound from behind him, getting louder by the second. Turning around, he was only able to see what hit him before it sliced him in half and exploded into a sphere of miniscule wind-element chakra needles that attacked each and every cell in his body. It seemed to look like a Fuuma Shuriken of chakra. It was, in fact, Namikaze Naruto's ultimate attack that even his father was unable to complete – Fuuton: Rasenshuriken.

With the life rapidly leaving his body, Orochimaru was only able to gasp in pain before falling into the massive crater caused by the Rasenshuriken. Seeing his foe defeated and no longer among the living, Naruto collapsed to the ground, with both his energy and will to live fading at an alarming rate. _'I did it. I killed Orochimaru and avenged the people of Konoha... Now I can die in peace, knowing that the man who destroyed everthing precious to me can no longer threaten anyone else ever again...'_

_**'Brat! What do you think you're doing, surrendering to death!? Have you forgotten that if you die, **_**I****_ die with you? _I_, the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, will not allow myself to be erased from existance just because you were too weak to protect those that your pathetic human emotions attached you to! Get up, and live your life so that I may one day escape and feast upon your flesh!'_**

_'Ah, shove it, furball. What have I got left to live for? Everyone's dead... I couldn't protect them. I couldn't protect _her_.'_

_**'I've already told you, I will not cease to exist because you're weak! If your "friends" mean so much to you, then get off your pathetic ass and go save them!'**_

_'You can't save those who are already dead, you dumbass.'_

_**'Maybe not, but it is not out of my power to send you back in time. I **_**will****_ send you back, whether you want me to or not. I'll not have you lay down and die just because you fucked up once, nor will I allow you to mop around until your pitiful mortal existance comes to an end. Although, keep in mind, this is a one-shot deal. You fuck up again, and it's all over. So with that, I'll leave you with one peace of advice. Don't screw up.'_**

_'Wait, get back here fuzz-butt! What do you mean you're sending me back!?'_ Naruto got no response from the demon fox, and was left to ponder this new development. Of course, that's when the searing, mind-numbing pain kicked in whilst Naruto's body was enveloped in the blood red chakra of the Kyuubi.

Then his world went black.

* * *

Well, there's the new Prologue. Better then the 1st I hope, considering I left Orochimaru alive a little longer so we could see Naruto destroy him. The fight was short, yes, but there's more to it. This was merely the end of the fight; you'll see what happened before that later on in a flashback.

Oh, and once the new version of the story gets a bit further along, I'll be deleting the chapters and AN's from the previous versions, so feel free to reread them and enjoy them while they're still there. I'd guess that they're only going to remain there until a week from today at the latest.


	2. Chapter 1

Before I get started with the chapter, I'd just like to make it known that when I say re-write, I MEAN re-write. As in massive re-write, with an almost completely different plot-line. Team/Sensei combinations will be different and everything. Part of this is because I feel like it, and another part is because I have new plans for later chapters that will work out much better like this. So let Chapter 1 begin!

* * *

As Naruto's consciousness slowly made itself known, the one thing he noticed was pain. Every single inch of his body felt as though it had been put through a meat grinder. The last time he felt like this was when he fought Sasuke a few months before Orochimaru took his body over. Wait a minute...

Sitting up with a jolt as he remembered the fight that seemed only a few minutes ago to him, Naruto screamed out, "OROCHIMARU! Wait... what?" Blinking a few times, and making quick observations of the obvious, it became quickly apparent that he was no longer laying in the smoldering ruins of Konohagakure. In fact, Konohagakure was not a smoldering ruin at all.

Getting up, feeling extremely stiff, Naruto walked over to the window. Peering out of it, he was amazed at how everything seemed so much BIGGER then it was just a few minutes ago... And how nothing was ruined anymore. _'What's going on...? What happened to all of the ashes, the piles of bodies? Orochimaru?'_

After revisiting his memories for a moment, he suddenly realized, _'He did it... The damn fox actually did it... He sent me back in time. But... Where am I? Or rather, I guess, WHEN am I?'_ With that, Naruto trodded over to his calendar, only to realize that he had about a week until the genin exams. _'Heh, Genin Exams, eh? I wonder how things will go this time, considering the new circumstances... Oh well. Hmm. It's Saturday, huh? Perfect. That'll give me plenty of time to see what abilities I still-'_ Naruto's thoughts were immediately interrupted as his stomach decided to make itself known with a very loud and embarrassing groan. "Ugh... Need... Food..."

Walking over to his cabinets, he opened them to reveal.... instant ramen. _'Okay...'_ Fridge? More ramen. Pantry? Ramen. _'What the hell!? No wonder I was always so goddamn short until my training with Ero-Sennin! I forgot just how much ramen I ate. That's... frightening.'_ Deciding his breakfast would be better spent eating food that WOULDN'T stunt his growth, Naruto undressed and hopped in the shower so that he could safely make a trip to the market without offending everyone with a nose that walks within ten feet of him. Not that many people did back in his pre-genin days. _'That's right, this is before people started acknowledging me. I'm still the most hated person in Konoha... Fun.'_

Realizing just how much work had to be done in order to save the village many years down the road, Naruto quickly scrubbed himself clean, stepped out of the shower, and dried off. Walking to his closet, he opened it to find all of those hideous orange jumpsuits he wore back in the day. At this point, Naruto fell over in disappointment. _'My God... Just how much of an idiot WAS I back then...? It's a miracle that I didn't die YEARS ago. I was a freakin' bulls-eye!'_

Quickly throwing on one of the offending garments, he decided that he was not only going to shop for food, but a new outfit as well. Something that wasn't quite so... grotesque. Grabbing his wallet and backpack on the way out, Naruto went to lock his door... only to find that the handle was smashed. Letting out a sigh, he figured he didn't really have anything of value at this point in his life anyways, and walked out the door. After all, what were thieves going to do? Eat his ramen? Burn his jumpsuits? Big deal. He could always get more ramen, although he'd never have nearly this much ramen in his house ever again, and he was planning on burning his remaining jumpsuits himself anyways.

* * *

As he was walking through the village, he took careful note of how everyone seemed to stop whatever conversations they were having to glare menacingly at him. Nobody would get near the boy. It was these events that led him to recall just WHY he always ate ramen and wore the hideous orange clothing... It was all store managers would allow him to buy.

Darting off into a nearby alley, Naruto glanced around to make sure nobody was watching him, and quickly made use of the Henge no Jutsu. In the end, this served two purposes: first, it allowed him to change his appearance to that of a boy of nearly identical height with jet-black hair and hazelnut-brown eyes. In this form he was wearing an outfit similar to what Sasuke wore back in their genin days, only the shirt was an emerald-green. With this disguise, he could purchase new clothing and food that weren't limited to ugly-ass orange suits and instant ramen. Second, the use of the jutsu gave him a relatively decent idea as to how much his chakra control now sucked, since he ended up having to use almost three times as much chakra as he would have three days ago. Well, three days ago to HIS perception anyways.

Stepping out of the alleway, he made his way over to the nearest clothing store. After nearly an hour and a half of trying on numerous outfits, he finally made his choice and purchased three of them. The first, which was meant to be a civilian outfit for days when he was on a vacation of sorts, consisted of a tight short-sleeved plain white shirt, over which he would wear a black button-down shirt with numerous tan-stripes, which complemented the tan shorts that he bought to go along with said shirts. The second was merely a simple long-sleeved leaf-green shirt with black pants similar to those that most Jounin wore. This would be his mission outfit, as the color of the shirt and the shade of the pants lent themselves well to blending in with a forest area. The last outfit was comprised of a short sleeve shirt the same shade of blood-red as the shirt he wore in his final battle against Orochimaru, and yet another pair of jet-black pants. This he would wear as an outfit for training, days when he was availible for emergency missions, etc.

After paying the man at the counter a healthy wad of cash, severely depleting his current store of money, Naruto made his way back into the alley. Releasing his henge, he changed into his training outfit and shoved the other two into his backpack. The jumpsuit he left laying on the ground, as he didn't want to bring it with him, and burning it in the middle of Konoha would be suspicious, to say the least.

Making his way from the alley to the market, Naruto (once more in his prior henge, although he didn't bother to change the appearance of his clothes this time) puchased a wide variety of foods: fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, etc. The strain on his wallet was heavy, but he considered it a necessary purchase, because he now had decent clothing and enough decent food to last him a good two months or so. With his shopping completed, he found his way back to his apparentment, where he stored his newly purchased food in the spot previously reserved for the inane amounts of ramen he owned. The ramen, however, got piled in a corner in the kitchen. There was really no need to get rid of it, after all, since it wouldn't really go bad. Not to mention he had so much of it that if he had ramen once a day, he could feed himself for almost an entire year.

With his food now safely stored, he proceeded to make himself a much more well-balanced breakfast consisting of assorted fruits and oatmeal. This, of course, he quickly consumed so that he could finally get around to what he initially intended to do over his weekend: start re-training himself so that he wouldn't make the same mistakes this time around. Before he left, however, he made sure to hang his other two outfits in his closet and toss all of his remaning jumpsuits, as well as a healthy amount of flint and steel, into his backpack.

Lifting said backpack, he made his way to one of the furthest training grounds from Konoha. Taking the jumpsuits out of his bag, he gathered a small amount of firewood and used his flint and steel to set the terrible clothing ablaze. Never again would he wear such terrible attire. With that awful, yet strangely pleasing, task out of the way, Naruto attempted to perform several of the jutsus he had learned over his many years of being a shinobi. Unfortunately for him, the only ones that actually WORKED were the ones he was taught during his Academy days, minus the Bunshin no Jutsu, of course.

By this time, it was already mid-afternoon and he knew he wouldn't have much time left in the day to begin relearning more then one jutsu. However, that was all he really needed right now, since the jutsu that was closest to working was none other then Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. With Kage Bunshin perfected, he would be able to regain his power at a speed that rivaled the pace at which Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi ascended through their ranks. While this seemed like a good idea at first, Naruto knew better by now. After all, one of the things he intended to accomplish this time around was preventing Sasuke from defecting to Otogakure in the first place, and that would be difficult to do if he started progressing at a rate that would make Sasuke feel inferior so quickly. Regardless, he knew that he still had to be stronger then he was in his previous lifetime, and the best way to do that was through Kage Bunshin training. So he spent the rest of his day reperfecting the Kage Bunshin to the point where he could nearly do it without thinking.

By the time Naruto finished training, night had already fallen, so with all of his day's tasks completed, he returned to his apartment. Once there, he quickly took a shower to cleanse himself of the sweat and grime that comes with training for hours on end, and retired to bed for the night, silently praying that he wouldn't, as Kyuubi put it, 'fuck up again.'

* * *

Naruto woke up early the next morning. He already knew what he had to spend the day doing, and he knew he had to go at it for as long as he possibly could. Getting ready in record time, he headed once more for the secluded training grounds he was at the day before. Once there, he quickly decided on what to train in first. His decision was, of course, chakra control. After all, he wouldn't be able to effectively learn his old jutsus if he still had the control of a three-year-old, now would he?

Making a familiar hand sign, Naruto created as many clones as he possibly could while still having enough chakra to train for the day. Meaning that it was him and about twenty clones. As soon as the clones sprang into existence, they all ran for the nearest tree to attempt to run vertically using only their chakra. They failed miserably. The real Naruto, however, already knew that while his clones' experience and knowledge would transfer back to him when they were dispelled, their physical strength would not be. He knew that his current strength would not be enough, so while they worked on chakra control, he worked on his physical strength and endurance.

However, he wouldn't be able to do a whole lot for a while; he had some arm and leg weights, but they weren't excessively heavy, nor were they chakra weights. He knew he had to purchase chakra weights as soon as he possibly could, but given how much he spent on clothing and food yesterday, that would have to wait for a few months after he attained Genin rank and did missions. Still, he didn't let this get him down as he trained himself as much as he could. Push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, jogging, he did them all and more.

By the time his clones ran out of chakra, which was enough for several of them to perfect the tree-climbing exercise, Naruto had reached his physical limits. This occurred around three in the afternoon. He could no longer even lift his arms, since he was so exhausted. Luckily for him, however, the sudden rush of information from his dispelled clones was too much, and he was on the verge of passing out. Before he did, however, he knew that he no longer had to work on tree climbing, and could move to water walking as soon as his energy came back. He decided he would wait, however, as he didn't want to push his body too hard, especially since he had to be at the Academy early in the morning tomorrow. Just as unconsciousness was about to settle in, he realized he would have to make a decision at the end of the week. The Genin exams... would he pass, or would he fail?

* * *

Ah, the rewrite of Chapter 1, finally done and over with. As you can see, I wasn't lying when I said things would be changing.

Speaking of changes, I just wanted to get a quick opinion from you guys on the new teams. I've already decided that Team 7, under Hatake Kakashi, will be none other then Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Yamanaka Ino. I'm still unsure about what to do with everyone else though. I've come up with the following team arrangements, and want to know which one people want the most:

**Scenario 1**

Asuma's Team: Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru

Kakashi's Team: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino

Kurenai's Team: Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, Namikaze Naruto

**Scenario 2**

Asuma's Team: Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru

Kakashi's Team: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino

Kurenai's Team: Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Namikaze Naruto

**Scenario 3**

Asuma's Team: Haruno Sakura, Namikaze Naruto, Nara Shikamaru

Kakashi's Team: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino

Kurenai's Team: Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba

**Scenario 4**

Asuma's Team: Akimichi Chouji, Haruno Sakura, Namikaze Naruto

Kakashi's Team: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino

Kurenai's Team: Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru


	3. Chapter 2

Okay, so before Chapter 2 rewrite starts, I want to give a little update to reviews here. Oh, and speaking of reviews, I'd like to say that I feel honored that this story has been around for less then a month, and yet it already has over 100 reviews.

First off, it looks like the vast majority of votes are going towards Scenario 3, so the teams will be as follows:

Asuma's Team: Haruno Sakura, Namikaze Naruto, Nara Shikamaru

Kakashi's Team: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino

Kurenai's Team: Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba

As for why Kakashi's Team is the way it is, Hinata and Sasuke are both with Kakashi because Kakashi is the only known Jounin-sensei to possess a doujutsu. Ino... Well, I just kinda wanted one of Sasuke's fangirls on his team to piss him off. Gives him a bit more of a reason to defect to Otogakure, you know?

Now, for those of you who are worried about Sakura not getting Genjutsu training since she's not on Kurenai's team: DON'T WORRY. Naruto will end up earning a favor from Kurenai one way or another, and will use that to Sakura's advantage. Speaking of Kurenai, her team is the way it is because 1) Her genin were the only ones left after the previous choices were made, and 2) having her as a sensei will help round out Chouji's abilities so that he's not straight-taijutsu.

Also, as you can tell, the chapters from the previous version have officially been removed. As such, I will be reposting the abilities of the Shizengan here for future reference (primarily my own, but also for those who wanted to know before we get there):

1st stage – Can wield all elements (must be trained to do so, however), can see chakra

2nd stage – Can identify opponent's elemental affinities on sight, can see Sage chakra

3rd stage – Can "fuse" elements together

"Fused" Element list:

Water/Earth: Wood

Water/Wind: Ice

Water/Fire: Steam

Water/Electricity: Electricity, but more powerful

Wind/Fire: Hellfire

Wind/Earth: Sand

Wind/Lightning: Hurricane

Fire/Earth: Lava

Fire/Lightning: Plasma

Earth/Lightning: Metal/Magnetism

* * *

_Brrrrrrring! Brrrrrrring! Brrrrrrring!_ SMASH!

This was, of course, the sound of Naruto waking up the next morning. _'Damn it. Now I need a new clock. Oh well.'_ Stretching and rubbing his eyes, Naruto glances over at his calendar and freezes. Today was the day he was to go back to the Academy. _'How... How can I go back there and see everyone now...? I mean, it's been less than a week since I saw them die... *sigh* I guess I have no choice. I'll just have to deal with it as it comes.'_

Climbing out of bed, he took his shower in relatively short order, followed by getting dressed in his mission outfit. He, of course, needed to wash his training outfit after having worn it during intense training the past two days.

After having a speedy breakfast, Naruto left his apartment, again noticing his broken door handle. _'Hmm. I should really fix that sometime soon, before someone decides to come and trash all of the food and clothes that I just bought. I'd be screwed then.'_ Making a mental note to browse around town for relatively cheap door handles after class at the Academy, Naruto leapt off towards said center of education.

He focused on taking a rooftop route that would allow him to prolong seeing his friends, giving himself that much longer to prepare. Still, he didn't think that any amount of time would really be enough. After all, how do you deal with seeing your friends again after witnessing their death?

* * *

Arriving at the building approximately ten minutes later, Naruto slowly made his way to the classroom, still trying to avoid meeting anybody. He succeeded. Unfortunately for him, however, he couldn't exactly continue to avoid everybody once in the classroom. Upon his arrival, he merely kept his head down and walked quickly to the back of the room where he took a seat in the corner, hoping to avoid any kind of conversation with people. This did not go unnoticed, however, as most of the class saw him enter the room and were thoroughly surprised by both his lack of orange, and lack of loudmouthed antics.

Eventually, the laziest man Naruto had ever seen finally entered the room, deciding to take a seat next to the blond shinobi. Nara Shikamaru was by no means any kind of an idiot, being one of the smartest people to ever come out of Konoha, after all. He knew something was up with the knuckle-headed ninja the moment he spotted him. So he took a seat next to Naruto, although he didn't say anything. He just put his head down to take a nap, and let Naruto deal with whatever issue he was having.

Not too long after, Iruka entered the room and made quick use of his 'big-scary-head no jutsu' to shut everyone up. He too, noticed something wrong with Konoha's most unpredictable blond the moment he saw him, and made a mental note to find out what was going on. However, for the time being, he had a class to run, and decided to take role.

Hearing everyone's names as they were called off certainly had an effect on Naruto. Not a good one, either. After hearing each name, all he could see were their bloody corpses; all he could hear were the broken voices crying over the loss of their loved ones.

"Aburame Shino" _'Killed by a group of twelve Jounin, although he managed to bring them down with him'_

"Akimichi Chouji" _'Died in Ino's arms after taking a fatal blow to save her life and used Bubun Baika no Jutsu to crush the one who would have killed her'_

"Haruno Sakura" _'...died in my arms, admitting that she finally grew to love me, after taking one of Orochimaru's surprise Chidoris in my place...'_ This one name nearly caused Naruto to lose the breakfast he ate less then an hour ago, yet somehow he managed to hold on.

"Hyuuga Hinata" _'Killed by Orochimaru when she suicidally attacked him after Kiba's death...'_

"Inuzuka Kiba" _'Died by Akamaru's side while they protected an innocent family attempting to flee the __battlefield'_

"Nara Shikamaru" _'Died of a case of chakra exhaustion while using his Kagemane no Jutsu after he ran out of tactical options'_

"Uchiha Sasuke" _'Bastard let his body be taken over by Orochimaru, killed by me at the very end...'_ After hearing Sasuke's name, he made sure to glare at Sasuke more intensely then ever before. After all, the power-hungry bastard DID lead to the complete and utter destruction of Konohagakure...

"Uzumaki Naruto" … No response, albeit Iruka already knew Naruto was here, and just continued any anyways.

"Yamanaka Ino" _'Murdered after her mind was shattered attempting to use Shintenshin no Jutsu on Orochimaru to find some trace of Sasuke still in there...'_

There were, of course, other names called, but the "rookie 9" were really all Naruto cared about anymore. After role, Iruka proceeded to drill the class on information, such as the twenty-five shinobi rules. The vast majority of these questions were answered, of course, by none other then Haruno Sakura. Naruto managed to keep his sanity long enough to last about an hour through the class... but then he just couldn't take it anymore.

Standing up with a cry of anguish, he slammed the window open and fled in the direction of the training grounds he'd been spending most of his time in, leaving his classmates shocked. Iruka managed to calm his students much like he did at the beginning of the class, and politely asked Mizuki to take over for awhile. After Mizuki agreed to do so, Iruka went out in search of the blond.

* * *

Luckily for him, Naruto wasn't moving at his full pace, so he managed to keep him at the edge of his sight until they reached the training ground. By the time Iruka had gotten there, Naruto had already formed over a hundred Kage Bunshin and was proceeding to beat the hell out of the nearby trees. _'Wait... Solid clones...? He's never even properly used Bunshin no Jutsu before, how can he use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, much less create this many!?'_

Once the initial shock of seeing Naruto create solid clones faded, Iruka decided to let Naruto take a few minutes to release whatever pent up emotions he had. Although, 'a few minutes' turned out to be nearly three hours by the time Naruto was finally so exhausted that he couldn't attempt to break down any more trees.

With Naruto's rampage over, Iruka cautiously approached the blond. That was when he caught a glimpse of Naruto's now shattered and bloodied hands, and decided to hell with caution. "Naruto... What's wrong with you today? You showed up and were completely silent, you're wearing completely new clothes, you run away in the middle of class, and then I find you here, breaking your own hands in blind fury!"

"I... It's nothing Iruka-sensei. Don't worry about it."

Iruka was outrage, and proceeded to smack the boy across the head. "Nothing my ass! How can you call this nothing!? It HAS to be SOMETHING if you're willing to come out here, use a jutsu that's more advanced then ANY genin should be able to learn, and try to take out a whole forest of trees with nothing but your fists!"

"...Okay, you've got me there. It's not nothing. But I can't tell you, so don't even ask."

Iruka sighed. Naruto was always the most stubborn person he'd ever known; if he didn't want to say anything, there was no way in hell Iruka would be able to get him to talk right now. "Even so, Naruto, I'm concerned. You can bet that Hokage-sama is going to hear about this. Now come on, we're getting you to the hospital. You need to get those hands treated."

Now it was Naruto's turn to sigh. After all, it was just like Iruka to play mother-hen like this, and there was really no point to even try and disobey. Getting up shakily, he allowed Iruka to lead him to the hospital of Konoha. Unfortunately for him, that was when the exhaustion from so many Kage Bunshins dispelling at once decided to settle in, and he passed out before he even made it back to the village walls.

"Naruto? Naruto, wake up! Naruto...? Damn it! He must be more tired then I thought, I've got to get him to the hospital fast!" Picking up the boy's unconscious body, Iruka leapt towards the hospital as fast as he possibly could, hoping against hope that whatever was going on with Naruto would be over with soon enough.

* * *

Well, I kind of wanted to let this chapter be a bit longer then it was, but the next set of events should really be planned out a bit better and deserve to have their own chapter. After all, basically this entire chapter came off of the top of my head, and while it's decent, it could have been a whole lot better. Oh well, I guess that's just how things go. Next chapter will be better, I swear. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read through this chapter, put up with all of my lengthy notes at the beginning and end of said chapter, and (possibly) review.


	4. Chapter 3

Okay, I know it's been a while, but between the whole NaruHina development thing going on in the manga, and several events causing me to be extremely busy this past week, I haven't really gotten a chance to write a chapter, much less update. So here I am, using what time I can to do this.

Now, I've gotten some messages from people concerned about the strength of Naruto's Kekkai Genkai. I guess I can only say to not worry about it too much. Yes, it is powerful. Yes, Naruto seems right now like he'll be extremely overpowered because of it, considering he also has Kyuubi and Senjutsu. The thing is, though, he won't really use Kyuubi much, if ever, aside from the whole fast healing thing. I'm also going to take a while to reintroduce Senjutsu, so those won't make an appearance until probably after the Chuunin Exams. As for Naruto unlocking and improving his Shizengan, that's going to go rather slowly. So far the plan is to have him initially unlock it against Gaara in the Chuunin Exams, then unlock the 2nd stage against Orochimaru on the Heaven & Earth Bridge, and then unlock the final stage when Pein attacks Konoha.

Also, keep in mind that just because Naruto HAS the abilities from these stages doesn't necessarily mean that he'll USE them. Chances are he won't really use the abilities from the 3rd stage much, only in his larger-scale battles, and the 2nd stage doesn't really have all too much use for him. As it is now, it only shows him what the primary and secondary elements that his opponents (or really whoever he focuses on) are; it doesn't let him know whether or not his opponent has trained in the use of those elements, or which element they'll be using against him in attacks. Like, if he was fighting against Sasuke, he'd know from his eyes (well, also from prior experience, but that's besides the point) that Sasuke's primary element is fire, with a secondary element of electricity. So he'd know that he elements he would want to use most in the battle are water and wind. He wouldn't know, however, whether Sasuke was about to use a fire or electrical jutsu against him, leaving the decision of which element to use up to him.

Anyways, here's chapter 3. Sit back and enjoy.

* * *

It didn't take long for Iruka to reach the hospital. Finding a medic willing to help the so-called "demon child", however, was a completely different story. He spent maybe five minutes running to the hospital, but it had been nearly two hours before he finally found someone who took their oaths seriously enough to take care of the boy.

This was not a pleasant time for Iruka, though. The medic had to take several scans of Naruto's body, including processes such as Konoha's equivalent of X-rays and MRI's. The results were horrifying. There were stress marks and scarring of several different types of tissue (muscle, bone, etc.) indicating fractures, breaking of bone, piercing of non-vital organs, and so forth. There was not an inch of his body that didn't promise a past of immeasurable pain. It wasn't just the fact that he had been injured so much at different portions of his life; the signs of injuries were nearly as old as he was. Or rather, as old as his body was. The sheer torture that the boy must have endured throughout his currently short life... Iruka shuddered at the thought.

Focusing on the boy's hands, however, the doctor noticed that the bones had already reset themselves and were starting to mend back together; they had stopped bleeding entirely by the time Iruka arrived at the hospital. Seeing as his hands were healing so quickly and efficiently, the doctor decided to merely wrap Naruto's hands in bandages and confine him to bed rest in the hospital for the night.

After being informed of Naruto's condition and need for bed rest, Iruka decided that he needed to report to the Hokage on today's events. On his way out of the building, he could have sworn several of the hospital staff glared at him and muttered "demon-lover" under their breaths.

_'How is it possible that Naruto didn't crack sooner under all of this hatred? Konohagakure is supposed to be a village that prides itself on treating ALL of its citizens equally and fairly... Yet the torment that they've put that boy under is unthinkable! And these doctors... They're supposed to be the most level-headed of all of Konoha's citizens, not turning away from helping anyone in medical need. Even so, they couldn't even stomach the thought of helping a twelve-year old boy with broken hands! They see him as Kyuubi and nothing else... It's pathetic. The damn monster took my PARENTS away from me, and even I treat Naruto fairly...'_

Iruka didn't have much more time to ponder about the jinchuuriki's life, however, as he had soon arrived at the Hokage mansion. Quickly making his way to the doors to Sarutobi's office, he knocked lightly on the door.

It didn't take long for the tired, wizened voice of the Hokage to come from within. "Enter."

Iruka slowly opened the door and stepped in, closing the door softly behind him. Bowing before the Sandaime, Iruka respectfully replied, "Greetings, Hokage-sama."

Recognizing the voice, the old man set his pen down and looked up from his obscenely massive amount of paperwork. "Ah, Iruka. Nice to see you. To what do I owe this visit? There isn't something wrong at the Academy, is there?"

Standing up from his bow, Iruka shook his head slightly. "No, Hokage-sama. Things at the Academy are going smoothly as ever. Well, except for the reason that I'm here, which would be one Uzumaki Naruto."

At this, Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Naruto? He hasn't gotten out of hand with his pranks again, has he? After all, there's been nearly no ruckus caused by him over the weekend. I was beginning to hope that he had just maybe given up on the pranks and finally decided to get serious about the Genin Exams coming up at the end of the week."

Iruka merely shook his head once more. "No, Hokage-sama. Naruto's pranks are not the reason I'm here, although now that you mention it, it is odd that he's been so quiet recently. No, I'm here because I'm worried about the boy. He showed up to the Academy today, and was much more quiet then usual. Silent, in fact. He didn't even respond when I called out his name during role call. Not only that, but he wasn't dressed in his typical orange jumpsuit. He was actually wearing something that would be good camouflage in the surrounding forest. Then, about halfway through class, he just suddenly got up with a scream and ran away through the window, displaying the speed and agility of a mid-level Chuunin! By the time I caught up to him, he was demolishing the trees surrounding a training ground. He passed out soon after, and I rushed him to the hospital since he had broken hands."

Sarutobi looked rather worried at this news. "This is very disturbing. That's not like Naruto at all... You said that he was demolishing trees. How was he doing this?"

"That's one of the most confusing parts about the whole thing. He was just punching them... But there were over a hundred of him! He was never very good at Bunshin no Jutsu, so it couldn't have been that... Not to mention the fact that all of the bodies were solid. Given that they all eventually vanished in puffs of smoke, they had to have been Kage Bunshins, but I don't understand how he could have known how to do that jutsu, much less create over a hundred clones of himself."

Sarutobi let out a long, weary sigh."It seems as though young Naruto is keeping secrets from us. Given that he's still unconscious, it might be best for me to... Yes, I think I'll do just that. You're dismissed, Iruka. I'm sorry for the abrupt ending to this meeting, but I have much to do given what you've already told me."

Iruka looked shocked. He hadn't even gotten a chance to inquire about Naruto's past injuries. "But Hokage-sama-"

"I'm sorry Iruka. There are things that I must do now. You're dismissed, and that's final."

Iruka let out a weary sigh of his own. "Hai, Hokage-sama..."

As soon as Iruka had left the room, Sarutobi pulled out a new piece of paper and began scribbling down an order at a furious pace. After all, only one person could get him the answers he needs, and he's probably not willing to do so without an official order...

* * *

Well, that wasn't nearly as long as I had hoped, but I have a lot I have to do yet tonight, and I'm going to be away for a few days. But, hey, life happens. Next chapter: Sarutobi gets Yamanaka Inoichi to go through Naruto's memories.


	5. AN Response

Sorry for those of you who are looking for a new chapter right now. I have neither the time nor awareness to write a chapter that needs to be as intense as this next one does. I'm merely writing a note to a specific person, as I can't seem to PM them for some reason.

Regardless, **the TimeDrifter** has requested to use at the very least part of my prologue for a story idea that he has. From what he has told me so far, the overall outcome of my Oto/Konoha War will remain the same, but rather then going back in time to fix things, Naruto will have do deal with the hell that is his life at that point.

First off, I would like to say that I am truly honored that someone would like to base a story off of something I wrote. To be completely honest, I expected both the original write and re-write of my story to be a complete flop, and yet I have gotten minimal negative reviews (those which could be considered remotely negative were merely do to one, my lack of experience in fanfic writing, and two, the Kekkei Genkai that I've created for Naruto), tons of positive reviews (over a hundred in around a month and a half, I feel special :P), and now someone who wants to expand upon something I wrote.

Second off, it may be better that I'm giving my response here, as an Author's Note in my story, rather then a PM, so that people have no excuse to call him out on a case of plagiarism. After all, if the original author give public permission in "writing" (writing, typing, same diff. Here), then there's really no excuse for claiming that he's plagiarizing.

Lastly: I, **Siekin**, author of Second Chances, hereby give **the TimeDrifter** public permission to use as much of my Prologue as he wants.

You know, I always wanted to sound all official like that... but snobby lawyer-like speaking time is over. Sure, **the TimeDrifter**, go ahead and use my Oto/Konoha War outcome as the basis for your story. In fact, I look forward to seeing how Naruto will deal with the tragedies... I mean, after all, sure he's pretty much the strongest ninja in the world by that point, but he still has powerful enemies, and no village. All of his friends (from Konoha, at the very least) have been killed. It's liable to make him insane, at the very least. I really don't see much of what he'd be able to do to try to avoid either death or insanity, short of going to, say, Sunagakure. Assuming that it's still standing, which I know I have made no mention of so far in my story. Don't worry, I'll get there. In fact, I'll probably get there in this next chapter, which as you can guess will be a shitload of, essentially, flashbacks describing mostly the war. Regardless, none of that is part of my Prologue, and is thus up to **the TimeDrifter's** discretion in his own story.

Again, have fun writing your story, and I look forward to seeing the work that my own work has inspired.


	6. Chapter 4

Well, here comes Chapter 4. But before that, I'd like to recommend to all of my readers the story that I mentioned in my previous AN. This story, of course, would be Death of Konoha: The Aftermath by **the TimeDrifter**. Everyone who has read my prologue should definitely recognize a good portion of what he wrote in his first chapter, considering that's what he based it on (with my permission, as stated in the last "chapter"/AN/whatever-you-want-to-call-it). I must say, it does my story justice, and even though it can't really feasibly be NaruSaku (given that Sakura's dead), I still recommend it.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sarutobi to write up the necessary paperwork. Only ten minutes after Iruka left the Hokage office, the Sandaime sent one of his ANBU members to seek out the head of the Yamanaka clan: Yamanaka Inoichi.

Moments later, the middle-aged blond man arrived in front of the Hokage's desk with a 'poof' of smoke. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Inoichi-san. I have a special mission for you, one I wrote up myself."

This piqued the clan head's interest, as the Hokage rarely ever requested a mission himself. "I... see. What would this mission entail?"

Sarutobi sighed and handed Inoichi the slip of paper that would explain the mission. "The mission I am giving you is considered A-rank, although in all actuality, there should be no danger to your life. The reason it is so highly-ranked is because it could pose a threat to your very sanity. As the mission details state, I want you to search through the memories of the Kyubbi no Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."

Inoichi's face paled at the thought. "You... can't be serious Hokage-sama. You want me to search through the memories of the Kyuubi? With all due respect, that's insane!"

Sarutobi shook his head slightly. "That is not what I said. I do not wish you to search Kyuubi's memories, but rather, Naruto's. You of all people should know that they are not one and the same. After all, your clan knows better then anyone else just how impossible it is to fuse the consciousnesses of two people, much less the consciousnesses of a human and a demon. Naruto has been acting... strange... lately, and I wish to know the cause. The boy is unconscious as we speak, and I do not believe any information he would tell me should I confront him about it would be accurate. He does, after all, have a nasty habit of hiding his true emotions behind a smile."

Inoichi glanced at the Hokage curiously. "You say he's been acting strange. How so? Angry? Violent, perhaps?"

"No, Inoichi. He is still showing no signs of being under the Kyuubi's influence. He hasn't attacked anyone or anything of the sort... He's just becoming more reserved, distant. Earlier today while he was at the Academy, he fled his classroom through a window, screaming as though his mind were finally shattering underneath the pressure and hatred he has been subjected to by this village. I would like you to find out what is actually going on in that boy's head.

Inoichi swallowed nervously. "Well, I am, after all, a shinobi. And shinobi carry out whatever mission they are given without question. I accept this mission."

Sarutobi smiled. "That is good. Now come, we must complete this before the boy wakes up. I have no doubt in my mind that it would be significantly more difficult to peruse his memories while he was conscious then while he's unconscious. The boy has a stronger mind then people give him credit for."

"You are correct on both accounts. I remember the last time you had me browse his mind. He was conscious, then, and even though he was very young, it was extraordinarily difficult to enter. He defends his mind most admirably, and hides his true potential exceptionally underneath his mask of an idiot."

Sarutobi smiled. "Of course. After all, as both his father and Hatake Kakashi say, you must 'look underneath the underneath.' Especially when it comes to that boy. But whatever reason he has for his change in actions, I am sure that one day he will be a great shinobi, and an even greater Hokage."

Inoichi nodded, but didn't have time to respond as they arrived in Naruto's hospital room. Taking out a vial of ink, Inoichi began to inscribe a very intricate seal on the boy's forehead, before pumping a massive amount of chakra into the seal, only to pass out nearly a minute later.

Sarutobi merely picked up Inoichi's unconscious body and carried it back to his office to wait for Inoichi's mind to recover from whatever shock the boy's past gave it.

* * *

Inoichi slowly opened his eyes and groaned, grabbing the attention of the Hokage. "Ah. Inoichi-san. You're finally awake."

The blond glanced over at the aging Hokage. "How long was I out?"

"Nearly five hours, now."

Inoichi sighed. That was no surprise. After all, it's not every day you witness the memories of a boy from the future and the destruction of an entire shinobi nation.

"So, what has caused the change in young Naruto's behavior?"

The mind-reader chuckled bitterly. "What HASN'T changed his behavior? I'm not entirely certain I can put his past into words at the moment. I will have to create a written report and submit it tomorrow. This could, after all, take a while. However, to answer your question and partially satiate your curiosity, the main cause of Naruto's changes is death. Oh, and you might want to stop calling him 'young.' His mind is, in fact, over thirty years old."

This only confused the Hokage further, but he soon dismissed the blond man so that he might go write his report.

* * *

On his way home, Inoichi saw many things. Some from his current time period, others from what could be the future. Yet many of the things he saw triggered Naruto's memories that he had witnessed only hours before. Most of the memories were of Konoha burning to the ground, and villagers being slaughtered by Oto-nin. However, the first major memory that flashed by his vision was when he spotted the Ichiraku restaurant.

_Flashback_

_It was during the Second Oto/Konoha war. Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage, was fending off hordes of Oto-nin by himself, providing a distraction while the non-shinobi villagers were attempting to flee in the direction of Sunagakure. However, he was so focused on the ninja surrounding him that he didn't notice Orochimaru sneaking up on him from behind with a Chidori, attempting to pierce the Hokage's heart and finish what his apprentice could not years ago. One of the villagers, namely the head chef of Ichiraku Ramen, did notice and moved with speed that he'd never before known to take the blow in Naruto's place._

_Naruto, hearing the scream of pain and feeling the blood splatter across his back, quickly finished off the Oto-nin surrounding him and spun around, only to see the first person who ever didn't show any signs of hatred towards him impaled by an arm surrounded by electricity, dead on his feet. Enraged, Naruto's eyes started burning red, releasing four-tails of Kyuubi's power while still maintaining control. Crying out in a guttural voice, Naruto charged Orochimaru..._

_End Flashback_

Next he saw dust flying in the wind, reminding him of how devastated Naruto was when he got word that Kiri had allied with Oto, and had crushed Suna. Then he saw Ino and Sakura together, fan-girling after Sasuke. He felt pure and unadulterated hatred towards the Uchiha, yet that was washed away when the memory of how his daughter perished re-emerged.

_Flashback_

_Konoha had gotten word of the impending attack by Oto merely a day beforehand. Several ninja, including Ino, had been stationed at the front gate. When she saw Sasuke leading Oto's forces, she immediately started flipping out. It seemed as though she never got over her infatuation with the Uchiha after all. She immediately headed towards the army, in a foolish attempt to talk "Sasuke" out of attacking his home, only to be stopped by a powerful arm. Naruto's arm, to be specific._

"_Don't, Ino. That's not Sasuke."_

_But she refused to believe it. "Shut up, Naruto! There's no WAY Sasuke-kun would ever give his body up to Orochimaru! He has to still be in there, somewhere! Shintenshin no Jutsu!"_

_However, pure evil and disturbing images flooded her mind as she realized that it was indeed Orochimaru, not Sasuke. Her mind couldn't take it, and she snapped. She fell to her knees, only to be caught by Naruto. However, in worrying about his friend, he didn't notice the first kunai being thrown by Orochimaru, which impaled her head as he had no time to react._

_End of Flashback_

Yet, even the depression of seeing his own daughter murdered by her former crushes body paled in comparison to the emotion he remembered Naruto feeling at Sakura's murder. It... just couldn't be put into words. (A/N: In other words, the flashback of that memory will come later in the story)

Inoichi quickly returned to his home to write that report and mail it to the Hokage before he went insane. He was going to need a long vacation after this...

* * *

The next day, Sarutobi found himself sitting by Naruto's bedside after reading Inoichi's mission report. It was unbelievable... Yet, it all made sense. The Kage Bunshins, Naruto's detachment from society, the new outfit, his new drive to train, his fleeing of the Academy classroom... It just all fit.

There was no time to dwell on the fact, however, as Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the unnaturally white ceiling and smelling the ammonia used to disinfect everything, he instantly knew where he was and groaned. Sitting up, he finally noticed the Hokage.

"Hello, Naruto. It seems you finally woke up."

Naruto sighed and shook his head slightly. "No need to beat around the bush, oji-san. I know what you, or rather Inoichi did. I know you know what happened. I take it you have questions for me?"

Sarutobi merely shook his head slightly and replied, "You'd think I would. But not particularly. Inoichi's report was rather descriptive. After I read it this morning, I unsealed your father's compound and officially changed your name to Namikaze Naruto. It only seems fitting that you take your fathers name, since you followed in his footsteps."

Naruto glanced at Sarutobi. "Eh? So I have my family compound back? Good, there's some things in there I need, like my dad's old chakra weights. I don't have enough money on my own to buy any."

"I see. So I take it you'll continue your inhuman training regiment?"

"Of course."

"I've already spoken with Iruka about your current... condition. You are not expected to show up to the Academy this week until it's time for the Genin exams. Assuming everyone who passed your last time around passes again, which I suspect will be the case, the teams you remember will be... significantly different."

Naruto looked at the Hokage in shock. "What!? But that changes everything! How am I supposed to keep certain things from happening when everything will be different!"

The aged Hokage merely smiled at the future Hokage. "Don't fret. I believe this will be for the best. If rage at you and annoyance at Sakura caused Sasuke to defect, then hopefully a change in teams will result in a change of heart. My decision is final, so don't even think of arguing. However, this next bit of knowledge should please you: I have arranged for Maito Gai to aid you in your physical training over this next week, and for my son to aid your clones in re-mastering your wind element."

Naruto cringed at the thought of being instructed by the eccentric Maito Gai, which caused Sarutobi to chuckle slightly. "Don't worry, Naruto. Gai is on strict orders to just train you, not 'start the blazing fires of your youth' or anything like that. Speaking of your training, they're expecting you at the training ground you've been using in about an hour, so you might want to go to your new home and grab whatever you need."

Naruto nodded and thanked the Hokage for his help, before taking off towards the Namikaze Compound.

* * *

_Time Skip – Genin Exams_

Naruto was the first to arrive at the Academy, dressed in his training outfit. Sitting in the back of the room, he merely observed as the rest of the genin-hopefuls filed into the room, paying special attention to the future Rookie Nine.

The next to arrive out of the rookies happened to be Uchiha Sasuke, much to Naruto's displeasure. The Uchiha merely raised an eyebrow at Naruto's appearance, having hoped that perhaps the 'dobe' had been expelled. In the end, however, he simply sat down in his usual seat and adopted his typical 'you talk to me, I slit your throat' position.

Sasuke was followed by Hinata, who blushed at seeing Naruto once more. She, too, had thought that perhaps Naruto was expelled after having caused a particularly large prank or something of the sort. She was relieved to see that he wasn't, and sat on the opposite side of the room.

Next to arrive was surprisingly Shikamaru, having been dragged to the Academy on time by Chouji. Both were openly surprised at Naruto's presence, and quickly sat near him. Shikamaru had, after all, told Chouji that something big must have been on his mind, and wanted to make sure that nobody sat near him and caused further damage to the boy's mind.

Sakura and Ino arrived at the same time, having been racing to see who got to sit next to Sasuke. However, both were frozen in their tracks when they saw Naruto was there. What's more, they were surprised to find that Naruto actually looked... well, _good_. The outfit was definitely a step up, and he was visibly more muscular after a week of intense training with Maito Gai and chakra weighs. Granted, he hadn't developed an exceptional amount of muscle, but there was still a visible change.

Sakura, however, could actually sense some of Naruto's power radiating through the room, and was shocked at just how much of it there was. Not only that, but it wasn't frightening, like Sasuke's was when she could sense it (which was usually when he was pissed off after significant fan-girling), but she almost felt... protected by it.

While Sakura was standing in awe of Naruto's aura of power, Ino used Sakura's motionless to her 'advantage', and stole the seat next to Sasuke. Sakura merely shook her head to clear it and instead sat next to Hinata.

Kiba and Shino also arrived side-by-side. While Shino didn't seem to notice that Naruto was there and merely took his typical seat near the back of the room, Kiba was visibly surprised, and immediately went to the blond and bombarded him with questions. That is, until Naruto glared at him and told him to back off.

Soon after, Iruka came in, got the class settled, and took role. The entire class was confused when he called for Namikaze Naruto instead of Uzumaki Naruto, but remained silent. "Now, as you all know, today is the day of the Genin exams. This year, we're going to do things slightly different. Normally, we would simply have you perform the basic jutsu that you've been taught, and pass or fail you based on your performance. We'll still be doing that this year, however, we'll be holding one-on-one sparring matches first. So if you'll follow me to the training area outside, we'll begin with our first match: Namikaze Naruto versus Uchiha Sasuke."


	7. Chapter 5

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I'm alive…? Holy shit, I'm alive!

Weird, I haven't updated in over five months… But hey, college will do that to you. Had to re-read my own story, trying to figure out where the hell I was trying to go with it… I still don't really remember, so it's time to make things up as I go along… Again.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was calmly sitting in his office, smoking his pipe while looking over various reports on the progress of Namikaze Naruto's training filed by Maito Gai and Sarutobi Asuma. The reports that were submitted by Asuma described Naruto's progress as being nothing short of unbelievable; while he hadn't really been able to use many fuuton ninjutsu, he managed to master the basic steps of wind manipulation in a mere week. Although, this wasn't too much of a shock to the Sandaime… After all, he knew that Naruto had taken his elemental manipulation farther than anyone else on record: he had managed to combine the peak of shape manipulation, Rasengan, with wind-based chakra.

Gai's reports were equally complimenting, albeit in a much more… eccentric… manner. Naruto was described as 'having the brightest flames of youth in Konoha (other than Rock Lee)'. Apparently, across the entire week that he was training with Gai in taijutsu and physical conditioning, he only stopped for meals, and when he passed out from his clones dispelling. The boy may not have been as fast or as physically strong (yet), but his stamina surpassed even Rock Lee's, and that's saying something.

While he was definitely proud of the kid's progress, Hiruzen was slightly worried about how he would act during the genin exams today. After all, he _did_ fail during his first shot at life… Would he purposely hold himself back to fail a second time? Or would he go all out, and inspire shock and awe from his classmates, quite possibly causing Sasuke to flee to Orochimaru at the first opportunity?

* * *

Everyone thought that it'd be over in two minutes flat. The legendary Uchiha Sasuke going up against the dead-last of the class, Uzumaki Naruto? So what if he changed his last name, got some new clothes, and stopped acting like an idiotic ball of energy all the time… He was still the same loser he always was, wasn't he? Sasuke certainly seemed to think so, as he calmly walked into the sparring circle, appearing to be bored out of his mind.

Haruno Sakura wasn't nearly as convinced as she watched Naruto as he, too, walked calmly and confidently into the circle. Sure, the ramen-loving nutcase had always been overconfident in everything he had ever done, but something just seemed… different. Just a month ago, he had been extremely loud and obnoxious. His every movement was jagged, unrefined, and wasteful. Now, however, he moved with a certain fluidity and grace that hinted at remarkable power hidden within. Not to mention the fact that she could _feel_ the immense amount of chakra radiating off of him. Sure, everyone knew he had an ungodly amount of it; it was probably the reason why he was so hyper and endurant. Before, though, it was wild, uncontrolled, and effectively useless. The power she felt now, however, wasn't just immense… it was intense, as well. It was as though the density of his chakra had tripled over the week. He hadn't really gained any more chakra, it was just more prominent.

Iruka moved to the middle of the circle, explaining the rules of the match. "Alright, you two. I want you to go all out here, just as long as nobody ends up crippled or dead. No lethal blows, and no real weapons; only training kunai and shuriken (dulled so that, while it can still pierce the skin, it won't cause deep lacerations). Ninjutsu and genjutsu are allowed, so long as they won't end up doing permanent damage. The fight continues until one of you gives up, is unable to continue, or I have to step in. You ready? Begin!"

Once the last word had been uttered from Iruka's mouth, he leapt out of the way, outside the ring. It was none too soon, either, as Naruto and Sasuke had immediately charged each other. Sasuke threw the first punch, only for Naruto to duck under his arm, and roll around him. Ceasing his tumble while on the other side of Sasuke, Naruto lashed out his right foot in a wide arc, attempting to sweep the Uchiha's legs out from underneath him. The raven-haired boy, however, merely did a back flip over the blonde's head and proceeded to initiate an intense battle of taijutsu.

Iruka noted that Naruto's technique seemed to be a fusion of sorts. It was based mostly off of a brawler style; the method of combat that a person learns while trying to defend himself in a street fight. Still, even though it used much of an unrefined style, it also incorporated many of the techniques that defined the 'extreme taijutsu' favored by specialists like Maito Gai and student, or rather, mini-clone, Rock Lee.

As the spar progressed, it became painfully obvious that Naruto was holding back. Yet even with this handicap, Sasuke just couldn't land a blow against the kyuubi-container. The Uchiha knew his opponent was holding back, and it made him increasingly furious. The anger showed in his performance, as well… His attacks were becoming wild and predictable, even if they were fast and ferocious, dripping with the power of rage.

Eventually Sasuke became sick of the jinchuuriki's evasive maneuvers, and broke away from the taijutsu match. Forming a somewhat long string of seals, he lifted his right hand in front of his mouth, and exhaled with a shout. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Immediately, a massive torrent of flame shot towards Naruto, who stared at it disinterestedly. Instead of dodging it, however, he merely slipped on some steel-plated gloves that he had discovered in his father's complex, and proceeded to pound his fists into the ground, creating a decent-sized boulder. The blonde then picked up said boulder, and proceeded to throw it directly into the middle of the sphere of flames, which created a hole in the attack large enough for the genin-hopeful to leap through. He did just that.

Sasuke was immensely surprised to see the rock flying at him through his attack, and just barely managed to duck under it. He wasn't able to react quickly enough to avoid the following attack, however, and so he was served a face-full of Naruto's foot. Reeling backwards after the powerful blow, the raven-haired boy once more went through a string of seals, accompanied by another shout. This one was different from before, however. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" A flurry of mini-fireballs flew towards Naruto with incredible velocity. Rather than trying to neutralize the attack in some way, Naruto merely sidestepped several of the attacks that would have otherwise collided with him, watching as the flew by. He had only re-mastered two wind ninjutsu so far, after all. He hadn't had nearly enough time to start working on his secondary element, water, and so he really had no adequate way to block them. This turned out to be a good decision, regardless, as he heard a distinct '_thunk_' behind him where the shuriken hidden within the blazing spheres had stuck into the ground.

Taking out a kunai of his own, Naruto launched towards Sasuke's head. It was fairly slow-moving, however, and Sasuke easily avoided it by merely tilting his head off to the right. He was incredibly confused, then, when a gash opened on his left cheek and proceeded to bleed. '_What the hell!? That kunai missed me by at least an inch and a half! There's no way I should be bleeding right now!_'

"Surprised, Sasuke? That kunai was infused with some of my wind chakra. It probably could have gone halfway through your skull if you hadn't dodged. Then again, I barely threw it, so there's no reason you couldn't have dodged…"

Needless to say, Sasuke was seething at this point. The dead-last of the entire class was _toying_ with him. Talk about a blow to the ego. Completely forgetting about the fact that this was a spar, he starting firing off weapon after weapon. Hordes of kunai and shuriken were hurdling towards Naruto, flying with incredible speed for a genin, yet the blonde didn't seem even slightly nervous.

Finally flying through a set of seals himself, Naruto cried out, "Fuuton: Kaze no joui!" Immediately, his entire body was surrounding by wind, flowing at incredible speeds in a counter-clockwise fashion. As soon as the mass of weapons came in contact with the wind, they were blown off-course, landing on the ground uselessly. With the threat over, Naruto formed yet another string of seals. "It's time to end this, Sasuke. I'm getting bored. Fuuton: Renkuudan!" Inhaling an inhuman amount of air, Naruto began empowering and expanding the air in his lungs with his chakra. Then, pushing the palm of his hand hard into his stomach, or more specifically, his diaphragm, the blonde released all of the air he'd stored at one time. The result was a large sphere of compressed air shooting towards Sasuke at a nearly unperceivable velocity.

Unable to move out of the way quickly enough, the Uchiha cried out in pain as the attack smashed into him, throwing him several yards backwards, where he continued to roll for several more feet. Once he stopped rolling, he just laid there, unable to move. Iruka went over to check on Sasuke. Seeing that he was still conscious, merely in immense pain, he called out, "That's enough! I declare Uchiha Sasuke unable to continue. Winner, Namikaze Naruto!"

The rest of the class just stood there speechless.


End file.
